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Hiya! Just a quick intro :) I lived in Nigeria for more than half of my life (so far) before moving to England and I have seen the best and the worst of both worlds. I was greatly inspired by the #OccupyNigeria protests and this blog is my way of #occupying. A lot of us compare African countries to the Western countries and I will mainly be talking about the positive things that I have observed and learnt in my few years of living here. Payme’s 2Cents is for all who dare to dream to see changes in their lifetime. It is for those who dream to see environments where 'helping' thrives. I will be giving my2cents worth on how we can work towards getting things to change for better. It would be great to know your opinions, so please leave comments. Remember to keep sharing posts that you enjoy. Follow @payme_my2cents. Thanks a lot for visiting!!! Enjoy my2cents :).

Wednesday, 18 January 2012

My issues with Davido's music video 'Dami Duro'

“Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.” Saint Augustine

To start with, I know that this is just a music video and it is one of hundreds of videos with similar themes. However, my issue with it is very relevant to the present day attitudes of a lot of us young people and it is the most recent video that I have seen since starting my blog. This is why I’m choosing to write about it.

Can someone please tell me what the first 30 seconds of the video was all about???!

Scene:

Poor waiter who unfortunately had to wait on a group of arrogant and self-obsessed boys made the ‘mistake’ of asking if they were going to pay for their drinks. The response he got was the intentional spilling of ‘expensive’ bottles of wine before having huge wads of cash slammed on his tray.

The message?

I am rich and I can do whatever I please no matter how egocentric I look.

My Issue:

I have a problem with the sheer arrogance portrayed in this video. I believe this is one of the roots of the major problems facing this generation. It is partly responsible for the current spate of scams, stylish or outright prostitutions and even armed robberies. A lot of young people involved in horrible things like yahoo, aristo (sleeping with older men for material gains) etc. mainly do it for this 'Big boy/Big girl' effect. Yes there are other factors such as parental upbringing, environmental influences etc. that contribute to these but having the despicable behaviour glorified in music videos does not help matters.

Who are we competing with? Why the incessant need to show off? Usually, people who obtain their wealth through hard work are not lousy since they know the value of money. I know this borders on individual personalities but I also know that spending or enjoying your money is no excuse for being downright disrespectful or lousy about it. 'Fingers are not equal' - does that make the thumb more important than the middle finger? That you are rich and someone else is from a more humble background makes them lower than you?

Back to the video, the waiter was clearly disrespected. That someone is waiting on you either as your hairdresser, house help or driver does not decrease their value as a human being. The lack of respect shown just because the waiter did not belong in their ‘class’ is deplorable.

I didn't find the spilling of the drinks funny either. I have seen this done so many times. It does not make anybody look cool or untouchable; they just looked wasteful! If you have too much money, go give to charity or help people in your neighbourhood. I know that there are people that work hard and play hard too and in no way am I against having a party or chilling with friends. But these can be done tastefully without I repeat 'being lousy'! To me, the dudes in the video did not appear cool. They actually looked like the 'money miss road' types.

Recently saw a picture of 50 Cent with wads of cash lining the whole stretch of his two arms. Sad thing is that a lot of young people see people who act like this as role models. Young people are being lead to believe that being significant in life has to do with external and material things which is a blatant lie! But how do we go about correcting these mind-sets if these messages make up the majority of what young people see on the internet and television?

We should take a deep look at ourselves, outside of our clothes, our shoes and make-up, WHO ARE WE?

Again, I am glad I chose to read cos I had some issues after seeing the video (only as a consequence of MTN's credit thieving being cos of him) and I was very put off by it. Its a meaningless piece of nothing. I am amazed that anyone thinks he can sing much less be an ambassador for a product. but I reasoned that he perhaps had other videos I had not seen that made better sense. The music says nothing except the nananananan is code for something else and who ever wants to da him duro had better do it quickly. Your point about the waiter also showed a shallowness that I prefer not to see glorified. Its no wonder MTN has issues if the people there think he is worthy to portray them. Good job!!!

Hey, well I agree with you totally but corrective measures does not start with castigating the young lad just like some comments clearly did. As a media practitioner, it is clear to me that the media gives back what the society wants. This is why the majority of people like the song and the video. eg MTN and our youth. "Uses and gratification theory" please google. We must start to do what payme's 2cents is doing to change the orientation of the public slowly but surely. Only then would we have an increase in scrutiny of media content and rejection of appalling content like this. Nice one and Good day

True... Especially d black society needs to wake up. We r d most wasteful race, n its just too bad. For us to have an important place in d affairs of d world, we must recheck our values n priorities. But yes, slowly but surely!